BTS: Freight index slips for second straight month

The Freight Transportation Services Index (TSI) fell 0.2 percent in January from December, declining for the second consecutive month, the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported Wednesday.

The index is based on the amount of freight carried by the for-hire transportation industry. The level of freight shipments measured by the Freight TSI in January was 122.9, or 0.6 percent below the all-time high level of 123.6 in November 2014, according to a BTS press release.

However, freight shipments last month rose 5.6 percent compared with January 2014 shipments.

Rail carloads, rail intermodal and pipeline grew last month, but air freight, trucking and waterborne decreased, which resulted in the continuing decline in the overall freight index. Citing Institute for Supply Management data, BTS officials said growth in production, orders and inventory slowed last month.

The Freight TSI measures the month-to-month changes in freight shipments by transportation mode in tons and ton-miles, which are combined into one index. The index measures the output of the for-hire freight transportation industry and consists of data from for-hire rail, trucking, inland waterways, pipelines and air freight.